Purity Seal & Gloss Varnish

[Briggsy]

Hi All,

As I'm working through my "How to paint Citadel miniatures" book, I've come across Purity Seal & Gloss Vanish products, I know what there for, but was wondering if anyone else uses them and would recommend them?

Thanks

[snowblizz]

I haven't been doing heavy duty painting for a good while so haven't varnished models in even longer. I use them mostly, mainly because I don't have alternatives and aren't into experimenting.

But people don't rate the GW products very highly it seems. I think Testor's is something UK guys use, can't find a thread where people discuss this to confirm.

A note of warning, varnishes are even more temperamental than the undercoats...

[Briggsy]

But Purity seal I guess is a good idea, as it protects the model and gives a matt finish?

Thanks

[snowblizz]

Well actually the gloss varnish is the one that's tough enough to protect the model, the matte varnish is there to take the shine off. Though I would think matt alone gives some degree of protection.

Aha, now I see. I looked at GW's pages and realise they have now switched to only selling one type of varnish, Purity Seal, which is "satin"*. I guess it makes it simpler.

I'm used to needing first the gloss varnish and then a matt to cover the shinyness from that.

I seem to recall people using Testor's Dullcoat. Or some such.
But for availability I guess GW's Purity Seal is OK. I might have a can of that lying around somewhere.

*satin is not matte, it is actually slightly glossy.

[Briggsy]

Cool, thanks...

[IBBoard]

They still do gloss varnish, just as a pot (here, under "paints" of all categories!)

I never varnished my models, but then I didn't game a huge amount either. Even the models that did get gamed with at GW stores didn't seem to get noticeably scratched from the games I did play, though. A coat of varnish *should* protect them against minor scrapes, but you will have to be careful of the appearance after you do it. Shiny models isn't a great thing to have for most armies!